Cruise ideas, popular shore excursions, tips for first-time cruisers, and information on ports of call around the world

Friday, October 5, 2007

Boutique/Small Cruise Ships, Pros & Cons

Boutique and small cruise ships give you a much different vacation experience than the large resort ships.

Passenger amount = up to 500

If you're thinking of going small, here are some of the pros and cons of these ships:

Advantages to Cruising on Small/Boutique Ships

They're cozy, more like "small inns" than giant resorts.

It's easy to find your way around.

They often have an open bridge policy, which means you can head up to the navigational bridge most times of the day to see what's going on.

They usually provide open seating in the dining room, so you're not assigned to certain tables.

Small ships can go to smaller and more off-beat ports, which larger ships are too big to visit (this means less crowded and touristy ports).

When the ship anchors, you don't have to deal with huge lines of people waiting to be tendered ashore.

These ships often offer better, fresher foods that are cooked to individual standards.

You'll find no or almost no ship-wide announcements disturbing your peace.

Disadvantages of Boutique/Small Cruise Ships

Since they have less bulk, they don't sail as well in open seas in poor weather conditions.

They have fewer public rooms and open spaces than large resort ships, so there are fewer options for entertainment.

As you can see, the pros generally outweigh the cons when it comes to small cruise ships, so if you're looking to avoid the mainstream, you may want to consider booking passage on one of these for your cruise vacation!